Operation: Kushani Sands
by Red5T65
Summary: When a massive ancient ship is discovered in the mighty Dune Sea of Tatooine, the 332nd Regiment, a subdivision of the 501st Legion led by Ahsoka Tano, is sent to investigate. But all is not as it seems…
1. Prologue

**A/N: This story is based off an idea I had for a Homeworld: Deserts of Kharak mod replacing the S'jets with clones, and the Gaalsien with droids. It'll follow the story pretty exactly, and I'll even include pirates! (Siidim, anyone?) Disclaimer: I don't own The Clone Wars, that belongs to Disney, (I'm glad they saved it, though!) and I don't own Homeworld, that's Gearbox Software.**

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It was a long time coming. The Jedi Archives had long told of the story of Tatooine's glassing by the mighty Rakatans for rebelling. Hells, corporations had latched onto the idea that the ancient tech would've been worth a fortune, if only they could get to it. But for centuries, no one had. That would all change that day. It would all start with a few clones onboard a lonely listening and observation post, cloaked so as not to attract suspicion…

Onboard this observation post, the clones were bored. It was a day like any other. The leader of the group was Sergeant Slinger, named for his impressive throwing arm, capable of hurling a droid popper an impressive 135 meters without any armor on. With armor on, that number dropped to 125 meters, which was still very impressive. No one in the entire army could throw something farther without use of the force. He was proud of this, though he took more pride in knowing that while the post he had might be boring, it was important. The Republic had stopped trying to actually take Geonosis from the Separatists. Instead, they placed a listening post on the closest planet to Geonosis: Tatooine. It also served double duty as a research station, combing the massive Dune Sea for signs of ancient artifacts like those hinted at through records from before the Republic's time, going all the way back to the Infinite Empire.  
Corporal Frigid, Slinger's second in command, who hated the post (he had always preferred colder places) had spotted something on the scanners. "Uh sir, you might want to see this…" Slinger ran over to Frigid's station. "What is it?" Frigid, staring at the image, shrugged. "I don't know. It's not Republic, I can see that much." Slinger froze. "Not Republic? Is it Separatist?" Frigid shook his head. "No. It's too old for that, I'm sure of it." With that, he switched to a diagram showing the object's position beneath the shifting sand. Its depth? Nearly 25 meters. "Alright, I'm convinced. But how in the seven hells of Corellia did you _find_ this thing?" Frigid couldn't answer. Instead, he asked, "Sir, should we contact the Republic? We'll need a team to investigate this… thing, whatever it is." Slinger nodded. "Excellent suggestion, corporal." Then, turning to their comms officer, Boombox, he gave the order: "Get a message to Coruscant. We've got something big here." At first, nothing happened, (Boombox had a habit of using his comms officer headphones for personal use) but after some shouting, Boombox got on it.

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Meanwhile, onboard the Lucrehulk-class battleship _Sajuuk_ , orbiting Geonosis…

Super tactical droid K'had was debating his options. After one of his subordinates reported they had intercepted a Republic transmission, he ordered them to decrypt it, which resulted in _this_ message playing on the holotable: "This is an urgent message regarding Tatooine's surface. Scanners have revealed what appears to be a massive ancient ship buried in the middle of the Dune Sea. Requesting a team be sent to investigate this ASAP. Repeat-" at that point, the message looped, and K'had weighed his options. He very quickly decided that the best course of action would be to send a task force to claim the object by any means necessary. He knew such a strategy would alert the Republic, but what could they do? The object had been very clearly stuck in the middle of the Dune Sea. Highly inhospitable. There was the annoyance of sand getting into joints, but that was easily remedied by simply not using infantry and solely relying on armor to make it. But he would have to find it. And that would be hard.

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Meanwhile, inside the Supreme Chancellor's office…

Palpatine had received the news of the massive objects. He too had weighed his options carefully. He had decided to send in as many troops as he could spare. After all, he wanted to make sure the technology was _firmly_ in his hands. He had uses for it. And so he called a meeting with the Jedi. When they arrived, he greeted them. "Master Jedi. It has come to my attention that an ancient ship has been found in the Dune Sea. Have you heard of this?" The Jedi who were present, Yoda and Mace, nodded. "Perfect. I propose we send an expedition to find this object. Now, I fear the Separatists have intercepted the transmission that revealed this to me, so I propose that at minimum, a battalion is sent, if we can spare one. So, Master Jedi, can we?" Yoda thought about it, as did Mace, and finally, Yoda said, "Ahsoka, we shall send. Split, the 501st is. Her regiment, she will bring with her." Palpatine smiled. "Perfect. Brief her and order her immediate departure. The Separatists cannot be allowed to have this technology." With that, the two Jedi left the Chancellor's office, where they contacted Ahsoka.

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Ahsoka was eager to be sent on a mission without Anakin, and she immediately accepted the offer to go. But it would be hard to manage such an operation, especially as the troops couldn't just be sent in. Geonosis was barely a parsec away from Tatooine, and an enemy force could easily set up right on top of the wreck, and completely annihilate them. And landing _in_ the Dune Sea was equally bad, as without time to adjust to the sands, a large vehicle could easily sink. Also, since it was the Dune Sea they were traversing, all walkers, aside from the AT-RT and AT-AP, were out of the question. They would have to use the relatively untested UT-AT instead. Saber tanks would be invaluable, with their high maneuverability and decent armament, so they loaded those up too. Palpatine had also decided to test an interesting concept: a massive mobile command carrier, capable of producing extra vehicles as needed. There would likely be a fleet in orbit, and besides, all the vehicles used would be incompatible with LAATs anyway. That meant they'd have to start from scratch, as they couldn't spare enough Venators to combat the fleet likely to be in orbit, bombarding them. It was decided that while they prepared to deploy the ground-based carrier, as such a massive vehicle would take time to become battle-ready, the Acclamator they would bring with them would act as a base. And so it was that a few days later, Ahsoka, along with the 332nd regiment, launched from Coruscant, making one key stop before heading to Tatooine: Rothana.

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 **A/N: And there you have it! Of course, in DoK, there is relatively solid ground in some areas, but most of it's going to be just loose sand, especially in the more important areas, like what is, in DoK, (Minor spoilers!) a frigate at the Kalash site. Now, what's this series of carrier going to be called? Find out next time!**


	2. The Leveler Meets A Golan?

**A/N: For those who don't recognize the name of the former, this ship is a ship Ahsoka and Rex were aboard early in the Clone Wars. It's got distinct features, like the underside hangar bay, and being shorter. For the later, it's an orbital defense platform. I'd like to think Palpatine engineered this event to prove its effectiveness, which made it more justifiable to use, so as not to waste resources. Anyway, the Clone Wars is property of Disney, and Homeworld is property of Gearbox Software.**

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While en route, Ahsoka and Rex quickly learned that the ship they were aboard was the _Leveler_ , still captained by Gilad Pellaeon, and he was rather keen on examining the prototype Golan platform, which was supposedly going to become an orbital defense platform, but was easily modified into a ground-based design. The prototype was actually only about a quarter the size of what it was supposed to be, as that was what was able to fit inside the Leveler. The actual design was supposed to be longer than a Venator. When they arrived in the Rothana system, they opened the massive transport's bay doors to full aperture, and let the walkers stomp in, followed by the sound of metal sliding across metal-the distinctive sound of a UT-AT, then the massive tires of the Juggernauts pound the plating, before the massive Golan 0 lumbered into view. It was a _massive_ structure, even though it had been massively downsized, and Ahsoka felt a wave of fear pass over the troops, before the rounded nub that constituted the narrow end of the thing passed over them, and the _Leveler_ visibly shook as its front treads hit the deck, and by hit the deck, I mean nearly smash it into oblivion. Pellaeon commented, "We're lucky that thing fits, _and_ is light enough we can carry it. I was honestly afraid my ship would just snap under that much weight." Ahsoka nodded. "That's not even full size… I mean, I guess since it's supposed to be an orbital defense platform. It's gotta be large enough to handle that, surely?" Pellaeon, realizing this, replied, "I should assume so. Well, only time, and this mission, will tell." With that, he turned on his heel, and walked briskly back to the bridge. Ahsoka, meanwhile, gave the order that they were to move out as soon as possible, and after the troops made sure all the equipment was secure (especially the Golan, which would be directly dropped from the hangar bay of the _Leveler,_ thus meaning it would be locked in place from the top) they shut the doors and lifted off, before making the jump to Tatooine.

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 **A/N: Hope you guys thought this idea was decent! I was having tons of trouble trying to figure out suitable replacements for everything in this scenario, from the LAVs all the way up to the command carrier. For a while, I was stumped, before I remembered that the first Golan platforms were built in the Clone Wars. Which meant they would need to be prototyped and tested. This is that. I'll release a full list of vehicles with the next chapter, as well as some relatability for those who haven't played Homeworld.**


	3. Data Sheet

**A/N: This is the promised vehicle list! (With context for the game!) Feel free to check back whenever you feel like it to get an idea of how the engagements would play out in DoK. Anyway, I own neither the Clone Wars, which belongs to Disney, or Homeworld, which belongs to Gearbox.**

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Ancient Ships:

Kalash Wreck: Hammerhead-class Cruiser: The idea here is that the ship at first is too broken up to tell what it is, but once you break up the first portion, you reveal the hammerhead.

Tombs of the Ancients Transports: Rakatan Transport Fleet: In-game, the ships are pulled out of hyperspace. In this story, it's a little different.

Torin Crater Taiidan Carrier: Harrower-class Dreadnaught: What else could it be? It's clearly stated it's a carrier, and this is the only Old Republic carrier I know of.

Khar-Toba: Unknown: You'll just have to find out!

Orbital Laser Platform: Unknown: See above.

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S'jet/Siidim/Republic:

LAV: AT-RT: What else could it be? The fastest non-speeder bike vehicle in the GAR, and decently well armed for its size.

AAV: TX-130 Saber Tank: Its armament is perfect for its size, and it's not _too_ fast. All in all, great pick, if I say so myself.

Railgun: AT-AP: I was going to reject this for the same reason as the AT-TE and AT-OT, but then I reasoned that one, this was smaller, and two, it's not as well rounded. Its only real purpose is to shell positions from a distance, which it does great.

Missile Battery: AV-7 Antivehicle Cannon: Now before you ask, this is a vehicle. It's got repulsorlifts and everything. But in order to fire, it's gotta lock into the ground with its legs. Which could prove problematic, but hey. It gets the job done.

Baserunner: UT-AT: I wasn't sure what to put in this category, since I'd ruled out the walkers, but then I remembered this thing exists. Thank you, Battle of Agamar! Similar to the AT-TE, except replace small turrets with big turrets, and legs with skis.

All Armed Cruisers: HAVw-A6 Juggernaut: Unfortunately, there aren't enough large Republic vehicles (that don't have legs) to round out this list, but the Juggernaut's a jack-of-all-trades. Got long range missiles, lots of guns with varying strengths, and presumably, a medical facility and repair station (the thing's twice the size of an AT-TE, and that can carry _two_ AT-RTs) It's not that specialized (Certainly not like the SPHA, and that wouldn't work here anyway) so that's good.

Support Cruiser: Sandcrawler: This may sound absurd at first, but remember: it's Tatooine. There's gotta be tons of abandoned sandcrawlers lying around! And they have to repair the droids and scavenge for materials, anyway! It fits so well!

Strike Fighter: Z-95 Headhunter: I thought about using some other fighter, but the ARC's too powerful, the V-19's not bulky enough, and the V-wing's too fast. So we'll go with this! (It has a small payload, so don't worry about that too much)

Bomber: BTL-B Y-wing: What else? Come on, what other bomber does the Republic have? And it's got the right properties too: It's rather slow, but it packs a punch.

Gunship: LAAT/i Gunship: Again, what else? Kind of in the name, and besides, they're stupid ubiquitous. Why _wouldn't_ you use them?

Resource Harvester: YM-2500 Limpet Ship: Now, the YM-2800 is a ship that exists. But that's an Imperial model. Why not let this be the predecessor to it? This will probably the only entirely original vehicle present, aside from the proto-Golan, which I will go into detail below.

Command Carrier: Proto-Golan: A scaled down version of a future orbital weapons platform, this semi-station can carry tons of cargo and has decent guns. Just keep it stable, and you'll be fine. It's bulky, but rather slow, though it houses tons of space for everything you'd need.

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Gaalsien/Separatists:

Sandskimmer: STAP: Similar to the AT-RT, this tiny repulsor bike is rather heavily armed for something that small. It can also fly if needed.

Assault Ship: NR-N99 Persuader: Fast, low turn radius, and decent armament, basically the perfect counter to the saber, aside from maneuverability. Nice!

Assault Railgun: AAT: I was debating what vehicle to put in which slot between this and the J-1, but the J-1 can hit landing Acclamators. The AAT can't. So there's that.

Heavy Railgun/Missile Ship: J-1 Semi-autonomous Proton Cannon: See above.

Baserunner: MTT: This is probably the only one I can safely say would have a large amount of droids onboard, aside from the carrier. So there's that.

Honorguard Cruiser: OG-9 Homing Spider Droid: This giant four-legged walker has a giant beam cannon and multiple smaller laser cannons. I was debating using this as the artillery cruiser, but there's a much better option. Besides, it doesn't have the range.

Siege Cruiser: Geonosian Super Tank: Thick armor, massive payload, slow moving, it's perfect! It can shell an AV-7 and take it down _easy_ without having to get in range. Just don't let anything get _too_ close.

Production Cruiser: C-9979 Lander: OK, OK, this may be cheating, but remember: The Separatists have a fleet in orbit. The Republic doesn't, and can't spare the resources to challenge said Separatist fleet. I can imagine them modifying them so they can move and giving them more weapons so they could hold their own. Oh, and also the ability to build vehicles.

Interceptor: Vulture Droid: What else is going to be? Seriously. Maybe the trifighter, but I think the Vulture is cheaper.

Precision Bomber: Hyena Droid Bomber: Again, what else? It's the only dedicated bomber the Separatists have. What choice is there?

Salvager: YM-2500 Limpet Ship: If you're wondering why this is here, CEC is owned by the Commerce Guild, and presumably would have had some ships owned by them directly.

Mobile Defense Carrier: Sandcrawler: If you're wondering why this is here, remember that this is Tatooine. There's going to be hundreds of the things.

Flagship: Lucrehulk Core Ship _Sajuuk_ : You may be wondering exactly what the hell this is. Well, it's those giant balls you see rising out of the ground in Episode II. Considering this force is being commanded from a Lucrehulk, it's not hard to see said Lucrehulk's core being deployed on the ground, and, as well, being modified to move using those giant landing legs it has.

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Major Characters: (S'jet/Siidim/Republic)

Chief Science Officer (Kapisi) Rachel S'jet: Jedi Commander Ahsoka Tano

Commanding Officer (Kapisi) Roman S'jet: Captain Gilad Pellaeon

Chief Intelligence Officer (Kapisi) Nathan S'jet: Captain Rex

Fleet Operations Manager (Kapisi) Clea Soban: Senator Padme Amidala (This will be explained in the story when they land, so be patient!)

Commanding Officer (Sakala) Mashad Siidim: Wait and see!

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Major Characters: (Gaalsien/Separatists)

K'had Sajuuk: Super Tactical Droid K'had

Khagaan: Tactical Droid TK-817

Renza's Commanding Officer Tactical Droid TR-514

Sunder's Commanding Officer: Tactical Droid TS-224

Retribution's Commanding Officer: Tactical Droid TR-520

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 **A/N: And that should be everything you need to know! Now let's get this party started! Sorry about the exposition dump, though. I felt it was necessary to get you Star Wars fans ready for this story, because a lot of crap is going to happen.**


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